DENVER — Generations of Denver Broncos fans have been raised under the mantra “In Elway We Trust.”

First, they watched a young quarterback in the 1980s seemingly single-handedly carry overmatched teams to three Super Bowls. Then, they cheered for an aging player who in the late 1990s helicoptered his way into NFL history with back-to-back championships.

The Legend of Elway only grew when he returned to the franchise in 2011 as executive vice president and general manager and rebuilt the Broncos into a Super Bowl champion by luring free agent after free agent to Denver.

But Elway and the Broncos are about to find out if that trust is unconditional.

For the second consecutive year the Broncos are in a tailspin. Their current losing streak is now at four games after Sunday’s 23-20 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It was a game played in front of more than 9,000 empty seats at Broncos Stadium at Mile High, while many of those who did brave...